Archives: September 2015

After forming in early 2014, New Orleans’ PEARS wasted little time writing and recording their debut LP, Go to Prison. Soon after, they caught the attention of Off With Their Heads singer/guitarist Ryan Young, who subsequently released the album on vinyl via his label, Anxious and Angry. Extensive touring followed and in July of this year, Fat Wreck Chords re-released Go to Prison. We caught up with guitarist/singer Brian Pretus after the band’s recent performance at Riot Fest Chicago at talked about how PEARS got its start. We also discussed their unique sound, which combines aggressive hardcore/punk, chaotic yet detailed songwriting and a hint of melody. Our conversation also touched on the band’s forthcoming second album, which is due out early next year, and more. Continue Reading…

I’ve been Jaded in Chicago for several years now but I was born in Detroit and raised on its music, so I was stoked to see the city that first brought you punk rock represented so prominently on this year’s Riot Fest bill with proto-punk trio Death taking the Riot Stage on Friday afternoon and the indefatigable Iggy Pop headlining the Rock Stage on Saturday night (plus a performance from Bootsy Collins, if we want to discuss his Parliament-Funkadelic years, which we most certainly do).

If you’re still unfamiliar with Death, not only are they an incredible band, they have one of the most incredible back stories in the history of rock music too. You can watch the award-winning documentary, A Band Called Death (here’s the trailer) to learn more, but here’s the short of it: Death was formed by brothers David, Dannis, and Bobby Hackney in Detroit in the mid-70s. As black teens playing raw, unbridled rock ‘n’ roll, the group was marginalized, overlooked, and misunderstood (they even turned down the chance for a recording deal with Clive Davis, who wanted them to change their name), before they finally disbanded out of frustration in 1977. David passed away due to illness in 2000 but not before giving his brothers Death’s master tapes and promising that someday the world would come looking for them. It may sound like something out of a fairytale, but a couple of years later that’s exactly what happened (seriously, watch the documentary). Bobby and Dannis reformed Death with guitarist Bobbie Duncan in 2009, and the trio has been going strong ever since. They’ve continued to celebrate David’s memory with a series of archival recordings and frequent touring and in April, 2015, they revealed the latest chapter of the Death story with an album of all new material, appropriately titled N.E.W..Continue Reading…

This past June, Bad Cop/Bad Cop released their debut album on Fat Wreck Chords, called Not Sorry. We caught up with the band last month when they played House of Blues Chicago as part of the Fat Wrecked for 25 Years tour. We spoke with singer/guitarist Jennie Cotterill and talked about how the group got its start, as well as what it was like recording their new record. We also discussed Bad Cop/Bad Cop’s unique sound, which combines three-part vocal harmonies, West Coast ‘90s punk and a relentless supply of energy. Additionally, we conversed about the lack of female musicians in punk rock today, the band’s plans for this fall/winter and more. Continue Reading…

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Originally a printed zine from 1998 – 2004, our goal is to provide coverage of Chicago’s expansive independent music community, and to occasionally highlight some of our past work. National and international bands will be featured as well, but above all, we hope to create lasting content for music fans everywhere.